I'll be there
by TheCrowMaiden
Summary: One-shot Sibling angst/cuteness with Marik and Ishizu. Based slightly off a role-play.


She was supposed to protect him. She was supposed to be his elder sister. But she was a failure…

Ishizu couldn't sleep. Her eyelids would close, but her mind would continue to wander. She prayed that Rishid would return soon so they could leave. Yes, they were going back to Egypt, as it was obvious that they simply did not belong in Domino City. The siblings had tried to lead normal lives, but misfortune had followed them, as it always had. What would their stay there change?

"Nothing.", she sighed to herself, looking around the room.

She was tired, frustrated, upset, and wanted nothing more than to be assured that her brothers were safe. But nothing could assure her of that, not even her Millennium Necklace, which had been unreliable of late.

_I will never be like Mother,_ she thought sadly,_ I could never be as kind, gentle, loving, or even as protective as her. But I…tried my best…and look where it got me. What kind of older sister cannot prevent tragedy from striking her younger brother? Or cannot be reliable for her older brother? They have been injured, tormented, and I…I could not prevent anything._

Her eyes were watering again, which was unusual for the Egyptian woman. Ishizu did not cry often, but lately…she had been crying frequently. She just wanted to go home, so that she and her family could find peace. There, they could be considered normal; or as normal as the family of a Tomb Keeper could be.

She lay back down on her bed and curled up, pulling her knees to her chest. Rishid would be back soon, and Marik would wake as well- if he hadn't already. They would take him to a hospital to make sure he could travel, and then…Home.

Ishizu was so wrapped up in her thoughts she didn't hear the soft footsteps of her younger brother as he came down the hallway and leaned against the doorframe.

"Are you awake still…?"

Startled, she looked over at him and sat up. "Marik, you should be resting…" Forgetting the tears that were still fresh on her cheeks, she went to help him. "You still need to rest."

The young boy brushed her face gently with one hand. "You're crying."

"It-it's nothing," she sniffed, closing her eyes and shaking her head, "you should be sleeping. You're injured…Perhaps I should tell Rishid to meet us at the hospital instead."

Marik frowned, and shook his head. "No, I'm alright. I'm worried about _you_."

"There's no need to be," Ishizu said, attempting to smile, "I am fine, just a bit exhausted, that is all." Taking his hand, she again tried to urge him towards the bed. "You're the one that needs to be worried over right now. You're in pain; lay down."

Stubbornly, he pulled his hand back. "No Ishizu," he admonished her, "if I am in pain it is because I have caused one of the only people dear to me to cry."

"Marik," she sighed, "it's not your fault that I'm crying. It is by fault of my own."

"I don't believe you." He stated it flatly, a frown still creasing his forehead. "It's because I got myself hurt again, isn't it?"

His sister's beautiful blue eyes clouded over, and she clasped her hands over her plain cotton dress. When she spoke, the guilt in her voice was evident.

"It is because I could not prevent you getting hurt…again."

"Ishizu you cannot always be there!" Marik shouted angrily. The outburst jarred his cracked and possibly broken ribs, and he bit his lip, continuing in a quieter voice. "I was hurt because I chose to confront Kaiba; there was nothing you could have done."

Clenching her hands in her skirt, Ishizu looked him in the eye, frustration and sorrow plain in her gaze. "You are my brother Marik! You and Rishid are all I have! It is bad enough that the two of you are always getting beaten and bruised!" She paused, struggling to regain her composure. "D-do you know how devastated I would be if I were to lose one of you? You can be so…so reckless sometimes. I understand that Mr. Kaiba drives you to that point, but you need to understand that he has more power over us. I am surprised that he has not had either of you thrown in prison yet for all that has happened…"

Her brother looked down sadly. "So you are crying because of me."

She shook her head again, confused and upset. "You…need to rest…"

"This is why I wanted to leave you and Rishid," he said quietly, his expression downcast, "leave and go somewhere where my actions can never harm you."

Now it was Ishizu's turn to look down. "I don't mean to make matters worse for you…You do not hurt us. You _leaving_ would hurt us. We're a family; it is only natural for us to irk each other now and then. We just…need to sleep on it."

Marik slowly slumped to the floor, too tired to stay standing or even move to a chair. His sister's quiet tears and guilt hurt him more than anything else, and he almost wished that she would strike him instead.

"Ishizu, don't blame yourself." He whispered, his voice pleading, "Don't…Don't feel any more pain because of me."

The Egyptian woman wordlessly sank to her knees and gathered her little brother into her arms, holding him close to her heart like she could never bear to let him go. Blinking back tears, she tried to put her thoughts into words.

"From here on, things will get better." She promised, "and somehow I…I will make life easier for you Marik."

"You don't have to." He shook his head slightly, and hugged her back. "All I need is to have you and Rishid here with me."

"And we will never leave you," she replied softly, "ever. We're a family; we're all each other have."

Marik smiled a little at that; he never tired of hearing his family reassure him that he was cared for. "I'll fix our lives somehow Ishizu, and then, maybe, I won't feel ashamed that you are stuck with me."

"You shouldn't feel that way as it is." She murmured, stroking his hair like she had done years ago when he had been a child.

"The same way you shouldn't feel you failed being my sister…I would have died long ago without _both_ my siblings."

Ishizu merely nodded, and continued to stroke his hair. It was a soothing gesture to Marik, who began to fall asleep on her shoulder, comforted by the unconditional love of his sister.

Rubbing his back in a motherly way, she tried to prop him up. "Perhaps you should go lay down now. Let's get you off the floor brother."

He complied readily, staggering upright with a yawn. Smiling, Ishizu helped him over to her bed, assuming he was too weary to make it back to his own room. And she was right. Marik's exhaustion had finally caught up to him, and he flopped down without question and smiled sleepily at her.

After arranging the pillows to make sure he was comfortable, she nestled down beside him, and pulled him into a loose hug, smiling when he held one of her hands.

"G…night, sister." Marik slurred, falling asleep even as the words left his lips.

"Goodnight brother." Ishizu whispered back, and she soon drifted off as well, nuzzled close to her beloved sibling, with hopes of a brighter morning.


End file.
